4 published records
Business licenses and permits in Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County, New Jersey, seat Jersey City. The county has 12 municipalities: Bayonne, East Newark, Guttenberg, Harrison, Hoboken, Jersey City, Kearny, North Bergen, Secaucus, Union City, Weehawken and West New York, as listed on the municipalities page of the Hudson Regional Health Commission's Air Pollution Control Code. Environmental health permits for the county run through the Hudson Regional Health Commission, a regional agency rather than county government. The county items recorded here are the County Engineer's road opening and curb/driveway permits, County Planning Board site plan review for sites on county roads or affecting county drainage, and weights and measures inspection, with device registration held by the State. The population figure of 736,185 is the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 estimate.
What are you opening in Hudson County?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Hudson County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Weighing and Measuring Device Registration (State Registration, County Inspection) | New Jersey Office of Weights and Measures, Division of Consumer Affairs | $25 per scale for scales up to 1,000 lb, but not more than $200.00 per commercial location (N.J.A.C. 13:47F-1.7(a)(1)(i)); paid to the State Superintendent | one year from the date of issuance (N.J.S.A. 51:1-54.2(c)); renewed annually | 2026-10-06 |
| County Planning Board Site Plan Review (Development Along a County Road or Affecting County Drainage)only if it applies to you | Hudson County Planning Board, Division of Planning | Fees are charged under the Hudson County Planning Board's fee schedule, which the Division of Planning's How to Apply page links; no dollar figure is given in this record. Contact the Division of Planning, 201-217-5137, for the current amounts before applying | one-time review per application; the How to Apply page states no approval term | 2026-10-09 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in Hudson County?
Commercial Weighing and Measuring Device Registration (State Registration, County Inspection)
Every weighing or measuring device used for commercial purposes must be registered with the State Superintendent (N.J.S.A. 51:1-54.2(a)), and the scales covered here are commercial scales, so the registration applies to any business using one, whatever its industry. The fee for a scale of 1,000 lb capacity or less is $25.00 per scale, but not more than $200.00 per commercial location, as printed in N.J.A.C. 13:47F-1.7(a)(1)(i) in the State's courtesy copy of the chapter dated June 20, 2011. The statute caps the fee for scales under 1,000 lb at $25 per scale (N.J.S.A. 51:1-54.3(b)). The fee is paid to the State Superintendent (N.J.S.A. 51:1-54.2(b)), not to the county. The county's role is inspection: the Hudson County Office of Consumer Affairs, Weights and Measures Unit, conducts unannounced inspections of commercial devices. Under N.J.A.C. 13:47F-1.5(a), a county department that inspects and tests devices within its jurisdiction is eligible to receive 70 percent of the fees collected for those devices. Whether county inspection reaches a given municipality depends on whether that municipality has appointed its own municipal superintendent (N.J.S.A. 51:1-68).
County Planning Board Site Plan Review (Development Along a County Road or Affecting County Drainage)
The Hudson County Planning Board page states that the board is organized under the County Planning Act (N.J.S.A. 40:27-1 et seq.) and has jurisdiction over all subdivisions and site plans for development and redevelopment along county roads or affecting county drainage facilities. The Division of Planning's How to Apply page tells applicants to check the county road map and list to see whether a property is along a county road, refers them to the 2025 Hudson County Land Development Regulations for the board's jurisdiction in more detail, and states that an application is submitted through the county's online portal and becomes active only after the office receives the proper fees, payable by bank check to the County of Hudson. A hard copy of the plans goes to the Division of Planning at 830 Bergen Avenue, Floor 6A, Jersey City, with an electronic copy to countyplanning@hcnj.us. The record applies to a business building or expanding a site along a county road or affecting county drainage facilities.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- N.J.A.C. 13:47F, Fees for Registration, Inspection and Testing of Weighing and Measuring Devices (Division of Consumer Affairs PDF; last revision date June 20, 2011)State of New Jersey, Division of Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-06
- Hudson County Office of Consumer Affairs, Weights and Measures Unit pageHudson County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-06
- N.J.S.A. 51:1 et seq., Office of Weights and Measures Law (text revision February 10, 2016)State of New Jersey, Division of Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-06
- Hudson County Division of Planning, How to Apply pageHudson County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
- Hudson County Planning Board pageHudson County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
Who issues business permits in Hudson County?
Permitting in Hudson County is split across 3 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Hudson County issuing agencies
- New Jersey Office of Weights and Measures, Division of Consumer AffairsRegisters weighing and measuring devices used for commercial purposes under N.J.A.C. 13:47F-1.3 · Sets the registration fee schedule under N.J.A.C. 13:47F-1.74 permits
- Hudson County Department of Roads and Public Property, Office of the County EngineerIssues road opening, curb, bridge, traffic plan and dumpster permits for work on county roads, according to the county's permit packet revised October 20252 permits
- Hudson County Planning Board, Division of PlanningReviews subdivisions and site plans for development and redevelopment along county roads or affecting county drainage facilities, according to the Planning Board page1 permit
Other New Jersey jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.